Page Six
THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, March 12, 1943
Experiences in Rumania
By BORIS SMOLAR, Editor, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The recent report that Rumania offered to
release 70,000 Jews from Trans-Dniestria for
settlement in Palestine revives interest in that
land, which has become notorious for its ex-
treme anti-Semitism. The facts contained in Mr.
Smolar's article corroborate the suspicion that
back of the Rumanian "proposal" is a desire to
extort a large sum of money from American
Jews.
The most recent Trans-Dniestrian "offer"
included the provision that $200 be paid for
transporting each Jew from that territory. Mr.
Smolar, who has traveled throughout the world
in behalf of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency,
describes his experiences in Rumania and his
efforts, as the J.T.A. correspondent, to protect
the interests of the Jewish people, in this
article which he has written exclusively for
The Jewish News.
NE OF THE MOST important services of
protective value performed by the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency was the historic inter-
view which I had with Dr. Alexander Vayda
Voevoda, Minister of the Interior in Rumania,
in July, 1930. It was soon after anti-Semitic
riots had broken out in that country, leading to
the burning of several hundred Jewish homes
in the city of Borscha.
0
I reached Rumania; when the ruins of the
Jewish homes in Borscha were still smolder-
ing. The first few cables I filed were detained
at the Bucharest post office, without my being
notified. It was quite accidental that I discover-
ed on my second day in Rumania that the
cables which I had filed on the previous day
had not been ,sent. I immediately protested to
the postmaster general, who is in charge of
the entire telegraph system in Rumania. I was,
however, informed by him that the order to
detain my cables came directly from the Min-
ister of Interior, Dr. Alexander Vayda Voevoda.
attracted so much un-
favorable internation-
al attention that the
minister, who later
was reevaled to be one
of the statesmen finan-
cing the Rumanian
anti-Semitic elements
on government funds,
decided to expel me
from the country. The
deportation, however,
was prevented follow-
ing a long conversa-
tion which I had with
Boris Smolar
Ion Lugojanu, acting premier. M. Lugojanu
told me that the Government was highly
dissatisfied with my cables regarding the anti-
Jewish disturbances in Rumania.
Protests Blind Censorship
I explained to the acting Premier that I had
gathered enough material to enable me to leave
Rumania and still tell the - truth about the
Jewish situation there, while temporarily re-
siding in one of the neighboring countries. I
He was brutally frank in telling me that
anti-Jewish riots in Rumania were unavoidable
unless Jews abroad would aid Rumania in ob-
taining foreign credits. This,, he said, would
indirectly insure the safety of the Jews in his
country, since anti-Semitism, he stated, always
increased in Rumania during periods of
economic depression.
This frank statement of the minister, which
sounded very much like blackmail, was rather
startling. I asked him in the presence of the
correspondent of the New York Times whether
I could quote him. He did not mind being
quoted, he replied. I then asked him again to
clearly formulate his statement, which the
correspondent of the New York Times took
down for me in shorthand. There was no diffi-
culty in cabling it abroad, since the Minister
personally approved it.
Recabled Back to Europe
When my interview with Minister Vayda
Voevoda appeared in the general press in New
York, it created quite a commotion. It was
recabled back to Europe, and in less than
48 hours the entire liberal press in Rumania
was filled with articles attacking the minister
for making such a non-diplomatic statement,
which implied that if the Jews of America
would not secure loans for Rumania, more
Jewish pogroms could be expected. The liberal
press challenged the Minister to deny publicly
that he had ever made such a statement. He
was not in a position to make any denial,
however, since the statement was issued in
the presence of the correspondent of the Times,
and was taken down in shorthand so that there
could be no finis-quotations.
The statement made by Vayda Voevoda
As the Minister of Interior was not in a
position to openly deny the statement on which
I had quoted him, the attack against him in
the Rumanian liberal press continued to a point
where he was forced to resign. The news of
his resignation was cheerfully received by the
Jews of Rumania, since he was the person
responsible for permitting the growth of anti-
Jewish activities in the country.
At the same time, the Rumanian Government,
in order to prove to the world that it dis-
approved of Vayda Voevoda's statement, an-
nounced the allocation of $500,000 to repay the
damage caused by the Borscha fire, thus giving
the Jews of Borscha an opportunity to rebuild
their burnt homes. With Vayda Voevoda no
longer Minister of the Interior, the anti-Jewish
riots in Rumania ceased, giving the Jews a
breathing spell until new political changes
took place some years later.
The Jewish Center Music Department
A Cultural Force in Detroit
the last concert in the Center
series.
A Cultural Force
In view of this excellent talent,
it is no wonder that J. D. Cal-
laghan, music critic of the De-
troit Free Press, expressed. this
view: "The Jewish Community
Center has more than justified
the establishment of its music
department under Julius Chajes.
It is surely becoming a force in
Detroit's cultural life."
During the last season, 17 con-
certs were arranged, with local
Losing no time, I requested an audience with
the Minister of Interior. This was granted me
on the same day. As I did not speak the Ruman-
ian language, I asked my friend, Dr. Eugene
Kovacz, the Bucharest -correspondent of the
New York Times, who is now in New York, to
accompany me to the Minister, and to act as
interpreter if necessary.
Converse in German
It so happened, I found that the Rumanian
Minister spoke German, and I was able to
converse with him without the aid of an
interpreter. The minister admitted that he had
issued instructions to the telegraph office to
have each of my cables submitted to him per-
sonally for censorship, and that it was he who
had detained them.
once again protested the blind censorship sys-
tem, under which I was never aware of
whether my cables left Rumania or not.
As a result, the acting premier promised to
look into the matter. However, he pointed out
that his Government must take certain
" measures to defend its credits abroad. He
termed "unfortunate" the interpretation that
had been given abroad to my interview with
the Minister of Interior. But he cancelled the
deportation order.
Julius Chajes
T
WO YEARS AGO, the Jew-
ish Community Center took
radical steps to reorganize
its music department under the
direction of a very eminent
musician, the pianist and com-
poser, Julius Chajes.
Functioning under the super-
vision of a committee of which
Mrs. Abraham Cooper is chair-
man, this department has made
remarkable progress and has set
high standards for community
service by bringing to Detroit
a number of the outstanding
musicians of our time.
Noted Artists Featured
In the brief period of its ex-
istence, the reorganized music
department of the Center has
presented to Detroit audiences
the following world famous
artists:
Moriz Rosenthal, famous pian-
ist, was the first of the group of
guest artists. Proceeds from the
concert he gave here went to-
wards the maintenance of the
music departmQnt.
Hertha Glaz, contralto, who
joined the Metropolitan Opera
Company this season.
Josef and Rosina Lhevinne
gave a recital demonstrating the
finest two-piano music ever
heard here.
Emanuel Feuerman, known as
the world's greatest cellist, gave
a recital at the Center shortly
before his sudden death. It was
his only Detroit appearance and
those who were present will long
remember that memorable event.
Kurt Baum, tenor of the Met-
ropolitan Opera Company, who
scored a hit a few weeks ago in
La Forza del Destino, and who
will appear next week in Cleve-
land with the Metropolitan
Opera, was the guest artist in
Mrs. Abraham Cooper
artists participating. All the
events were well attended, often
by overflow audiences which
included non-Jews as well as
Jews.
Last year, the Center's music
department introduced the idea
of sponsoring a Brotherhood
Concert, and this has since be-
come a tradition. Local churches
participated by sending their
choirs, soloists and speakers.
Fred M. Butzel presided at the
first Brotherhood event.
Brotherhood Concerts
Last month, at the Center's
second annual Brotherhood Con-
cert, the music rendered was by
Catholic, Protestant and Jewish
composers. The soloists were
Mrs. Cooper, Emily Mutter
Adams and Marshall Bruce.
Next Week's
Magazine Page
Next week, on the eve
of Purim, The Jewish
News will devote its Mag-
azine Page to a series of
important feature articles
on the festival of Purim.
Other important - events were
sponsored by the Center music
department. One concert was de-
voted to the works of living
Jewish composers. To promote
the sale of War Bonds and
Stamps, those attending the
Center's WPA Symphony con-
certs were required to buy War
Stamps, and more than $7,000
worth of Bonds and Stamps
were sold at these concerts.
During the summer months, a
series of eight concerts was ar-
ranged for the USO.
15 Scholarship Pupils
The Center piano school is an
important factor in the activities
of the music department. Fifteen
pupils are receiving lessons on
a scholarship basis.
Two of these pupils, Betty
Kowalsky, 14, and Kurt Saffir,
13, were awarded prizes in the
Detroit Musicians League com-
petition for students. These two
young artists have frequently
appeared in programs sponsored
by the Board of Education over
Radio Stations WJR and WXYZ.
They and a third pupil, Harriet
Lewis, also performed their own
compositions at the Children's
Festival of the Detroit Public
Library.
Thus, the Center's music de-
partment is rendering an im-
portant community service un-
der the guidance of Mr. Chajes
and Mrs. Cooper.
Chajes' Musical Career
Mr. Chajes came to this country
in December 1937. In 1938 he
made his American debut as
pianist at Town Hall, New York,
and was acclaimed as a great
musician. He came to Detroit in
November 1940 and during his
residence here wrote two major
compositions — "Zion Rise and
Shine," which he dedicated to
Fred M. Butzel, and "By the
Rivers of Babylon," which he
dedicated to Mrs. Cooper.
Born in Lemberg, Poland, Mr.
Chajes appeared in his first piano
recital at the age of 9. At 13, he
wrote his first string quartet. In
1923, he won the honor prize in
the first international competi-
tion for pianists in Vienna. In
1934 he was the leader in the
piano class in the Music College
in Tel Aviv. He has written com-
positions for nearly every instru-
ment, and his works have been
played by leading artists, includ-
ing Mischa Elman as well as the
Philharmonic Orchestra. At the
New York World's Fair, his
Cantata was played by the New
York Schola Cantorum, under the
direction, of Hugh Ross.
The great pianist Moriz Rosen-
thal was one of his teachers.